Denied home claims account for over 80% of all claims made to homeowners insurance companies in Florida.
What is a Denied Home Claim?
A denied home claim is when the insurance company refuses to pay your claim.
They will send you a letter (or they should) outlining why they can’t make payment on your claim. The letter won’t necessarily say that your claim has been denied, rather, it will state the reasons why the claim will not be paid. Usually, they will state something like it’s excluded because your policy doesn’t cover that type of loss. But don’t lose hope because it could simply just be a smoke screen hoping you walk away and they don’t have to pay you.
What are some of the most common type of claims that the insurance companies normally deny?
-Roof Damage Claims
-Water Damage Claims
-Cast Iron Pipe Claims
-Mold Damage Claims
-Fire Damage Claims
Why are so many home claims denied in Florida?
Insurance companies in Florida really don’t want to pay claims because Florida is the #1 state in the USA for homeowners claims.
Florida scores #1 in the most claims for:
-Hurricane Claims
-Tropical Storm Claims
-Lightning Claims
-Water Damage Claims
-Mold Damage Claims
-Roof Damage Claims
Because Florida leads the nation with most home claims filed annually, insurance companies feel the only way to discourage people from filing a homeowner claim is to deny most of them.
What are some of the reasons insurance companies give for denying your home claim?
When we take a look at the most common reasons why home claims are denied, we have to look at each individual claim and give specific examples for those claims.
Let’s breakdown each type of claim
Roof Damage Claims
Typical reasons insurance companies give for denying your roof claim is that your roof is old, the damage is wear and tear, and there are no openings in your roof.
Water Damage Claims
Reasons insurance companies give for denying your water damage claim is that the leak was “repeated and constant”, long term, some type of language similar to that showing leak was there a long time and didn’t just happen.
Cast Iron Pipe Claims
Usually insurance companies will deny your cast iron pipe claim saying they don’t cover maintenance, pipes are old, the policy doesn’t cover wear and tear, along with other reasons.
What can a homeowner do when they claim has been denied?
There are few things a homeowner can do to fight they denied claim, let’s look at a few things:
- Hire a good public adjuster
2. Ask the insurance company to reinspect the damages
3. Read your policy where they have outlined the reasons why you claim was denied and try to show the adjuster how its not related to your claim
4. File for State of Florida mediation which is free, here is the link
https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/mediation/
5. If it is a roof claim, have your roofing contractor state the damage is from a windstorm which most recently happened and refer back to the last big windstorm
It’s very frustrating when you pay premiums to know when you make a claim it gets denied. But don’t lose hope, there are ways to fight the insurance company. I deal with so many people who come to me for help after their claim has been denied. Let me help you as well.
